Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-05-29

heretofore Se could not pillow At All n
the spring has long since been pI0wed
and planted Ia hops-in Marrb /
think. UNDERSTANDING ! what Errur1~l,l
the change. We got them ia nrsylv
four feet deep. In the aiiuviaI fosto,,,
soil these drain seventy feet an 500
SIDE Of the dram. II I could have ~,
choice. ! would never law 4 drain les.
tlan four feet deep. II Is grave rais-
AXE, this shallow draining. I or
had q neighbor who objected 10 rrv
pctunx an ontlet drain deep fhreu IN
his place unless boxed up tight IL
Sas ARA = Il would make his land too
DRY. lie nas since changed his mini
@Il1 IS now ready 20 buy tile.
] have thought We ought 10 have AZ
cheaper, and 50 we can. doubtlesg
when the demand becomes rreaf
enough 70 induce the establishment al
competing factories and going into the
business on = large scale. There l. No
work before the farmers Of Western
washington. 50 important nor 50
promising Of a speedy rich return for
me outlay as thorough. deep under
draining. Part Of that We put ia this
year has hlled with silt. and will have
% be taken up. 1t was our own fault
We ought 70 have selected the stiffest
earth 10 90 next to the joints. Were
this was done there was no trouble
We have got the experience, but the
workman has got the money. I mean
next time to know they are right before
covering them in.
A gentleman writes me from San
Francisco: Although the writer i
only slightly acquainted with YOU per-
soually, he knows you pretty well
through your Familiar Talks in the
Seattle PosT-IsTELLIsEscER," and he
sends me a package OF guano from
Lover California, % " test with our
sugar beats" / will test il by drilling
IN the rows and also by sowing broad
cast, ] think a little OF this, 10 act as
a stimulant on special crops, would be
good. IL may be, as he says. also
proiitably used on grain, but / will
doubt that until it is tested thor
oughly.
The best fertilizer, in my opinion,
for grain, and, for that matter, most
all crops, is clover, because cheapest
While fertilizing with clover, We are
getting a most profitable crop and lose
no time, no more than with special
manures. Nevertheless I am decid-
eddy in favor of specials" clover
first, stables next, then ransack else
where for the most available, cost and
results considered. One trouble with
special manures is that we country
III \ ~ q
their value only from actual test from
year 70 year, and the next they may
come adulterated. Clover is always
the same; that OF the yard is what We
make IL; that of the commercial is
variable. Nevertheless there are firms
and there are sources from which we
may draw with reasonable expecta-
tons Of getting our moneys worth
and | welcome this move looking u
the introduction Of fertilizers for our
special crops that will tend TO increase
rather than decrease the fertility of
our inexhaustible" soil.
This is one OF numerous letters that
are constantly reaching me with the
introduction, have read in the Sc
attic INTELLIGESCER," as text either
10 ask question:, suggest criticism, or
bestow praise. These come from Maine
10 Texas. from California, New York
the Western States, out on the line oi
the Canadian Pacific. and even from
e across the water" This shows how
wide Is the circulation Of the paper
how general the interest in this cOun-
try, and how much is needed "A medium
Of disseminating facts about our meth
DDS and manner OF living. We need
an experimental farm-an agricultural
college, II you will--liberally sustained,
not only 90 inform strangers from
abroad. but also our own people, who
are outside the reach OF individual
effort.
The first harrow 1 owned and used
on my Puyallup farm was brush.
used that at the time because | did not
have the money to buy what | then
thought was a better one--a common
iron tooth drag. IL did splendid work
and left the ground in fine filth. and
as | now believe, was better for the
purpose than any other. considering
The condition OF the land. Last week
when We made an earnest start pre-
pairing the ground for the garden and
root crops. we started in after blowing
and subsoiling with the disc harrow,
afterwards the Clod masher, then fol-
lowed with a fiye-eiEhth tooth hing
harrow. Neither seemed to do the
work wanted-to thoroughly pulverize
the soil. especially the surface. SO |
told Abe to make brush harrow. He
took a cut of fir sapling seven inches
IN diameter and seven feet long for the
head. bored fourteen two-inch holes
six inches apart, and put the butt ends
Of fourteen straight bushy vine maple
brush sixteen feet long into this head
and securely wedged them.
This made heavy load TO haul, but
il did the work. This was only the
surface. however; 30 we out with the
gang pillow and cross -plowed il nicely
exposing 10 view thousands Of clods
that before were not only hidden from
view, but also were out OF the reach OF
any kind Of a harrow. This latter
blowing also gave us fresh earth. in
which the weed seeds had nos sprout-
Ell /; and now the seed we plant will
have more than an even chance in the
struggle for supremacy in their early
growth. This brush harrow not only
pulyerizes the earth. but rolls the tufts
Of sods over and over again, until there
is nothing left Of them.
There : one place where the brush
harrow Is no good. aud that Is on
sod-stii land, | mean. when we get
al the potato ground, TO take the disk
harrow. put four horses on IL, set IL for
the heaviest work. and run both ways
20 cut the sod up tine, before we put a
pillow into the ground Sod can be cut
up after blowing. but not near So eifeC-
tually rs before; and besides harrow
ing first hghtens the work ol blowing
After narrowing. we shalt either double
pillow or plow once and suhSoil | really
believe double piowing aud suhsoiiing
also would pay, u teams we're obtainz-
bic | shall Try a strip that way.
think this is the latest MAY 2istl
that We have ever planted onion seed
Plant before the ground i IN order
would not and did not. We got ready
bv four o'clock and run the drill until
sunset summing up, ! found we
we're getting only four pounds per
acre. l wanted six. As Il was tate in
the season. I thought It best 10 seed
heavily. 50 turned and run over the
RMS again With the drill witch gave